Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) have been working for months on a new immigration bill that some believe could serve as the realization of or an alternative to President Bush’s guest worker proposal.  The exact details of the bill are unknown as of now, but the bill is likely to include protections for US workers.  Hagel’s spokesmen have said that Hegel is supportive of the President’s proposal and that the new proposal is not meant to be an alternative.  Hagel and Daschle began working on the bill in late summer, before President Bush made his announcement.  It is expected that the bill will be introduced by next week.

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US Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut sponsored a bill that provides tougher restriction on L-1 work visas.  The bill requires employers to provide comparable wages and prohibits layoffs of U.S. workers for 100 days before and after the L-1 employee is hired.  The bill also provides for a cap on the number of L-1 visas issued each year.

Proponents of the bill favor similar legislation that would decrease the cap on H-1B visas.  The H-1B cap currently stands at 195,000 visas per year.

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For a review of all the immigration bills that have been recently introduced, visit our legislative chart at www.visalaw.com/advocacy.html.